Plant-growing apparatus.



F. W. TAYLOR.

PLANT GROWING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 1', 1909. 1,033,290.

Patented Ju1 23, 1912.-

4 SHEETSSHEET 1.

F. W. TAYLOR.

PLANT GROWING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 1, 1909.

Patent-ed July 23, 1912.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

a my 3 A v5; swam.

F. W. TAYLOR. PLANT GROWING APPARATUS.

I APPLICATION FILED NOV. 1, 1909. 1,033,290. v

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3 Patented July 23, 1912.

APPLICATION II'LED NOV. 1, 1909.

F. W. TAYLOR."- PLANT GROWING APBARATUS.

Patented July 23, 1912.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

a temperature in the pits or beds substap: tially above the averagetemperature of the surrounding atmosphere. Such-pits or beds,

wholly or partially sunk into the earth, and

:unnrEosTATns om n;- I fa'nniamcx w, i imnsimvn rrnf .v A ;A-1i&s.aaowiae I Philadelphia and State, of Pennsylvania," have invented acertain new and useful Improvexnent. 1n Plant-GrowingApparatus, of

which the following is a' .true and exact description, reference beinghad to the accom imnying drawings, which forina part thereof. f

My present invention relates to the construction 'of,and to apparatusused inconnection .ivith, forcing pits or, cold beds for growing plants.\Vith such pits or bedsthe heat of thesun is employed in maintainingprovided with-the usual inclined glass roofs,

. have long been known and used. Hereto-f fore, the extensive use ofsuchpits or beds at seasons and in localities where they are subeeted tovery' low temperatures from'tnne to time, as during cold 'ains, or snow"storms, or in cloudy weather, or in the night tune in seasons of theyear in which the external temperature is low except when the sun isshining brightly, has been prevented by the dillieulty experienced inmaintainingv a sulliciently high temperature in the pits or beds underunfavorable eonditions. Various arrangements for covering the glassroofs of such pits or beds, at periods when otherwise the pits or bedswould give up their heart and tall in temperature too rapidly, have beensuggested, and some of such arrangements have been used in practice.Thearrangef ment-s heretofore employed, howeve have not gone intoextensive or even appreciable use except. in the case of small pits orbeds. because of the diflieulty of providing and manipulating roofcovering deviceswhieh, on the one hand, have proper heat insulating andprotective properties, and, on the other hand, are suilitnently durableand not. too expensive to construct and maintain, and at the same timecan be manipulated easily and at .a small labor cost, andwithout anexit-es sire expenditure for equipment.

The object of the present invention the provision of a roofconstruction, removable sash covers, and apparatus for manipulating thecovers, which will permit the effective and economical use of iorclugpits or beds deviee s,"

conditions are, entrain ti quite severe. $1 1 In carrying outinyinvention I aim the fr'ainewor k of the rooiioftheforcii? pit or orna'ofbedo'f beams, preferably inf -jthe flanged bars, which serve not onlyvas: sup ports for the roof, sashes, .-lo'ut2-' also: ,for thenie an'semployed:.for transpor'tin ,the large into, and. out oftheir operativepositions overthe root and heavy sash. covers employ sashes." Thesecoversl .form with. a rigid backingjindI-preferably en1p1oy,-' fortransporting the covers, ail-Vehicle having wheels adapted to 11111on'the-ro'ofbeams and hay-- time may be,

- mo ds of I Y 'ot relatlvely largq-size'durmg N year and"!!!locallties' intwhic the weather ing provisions by yvhieh,thewehielezortIUCl{'.

may, be. "readily eonnected'ato f and;- diseonnected from the covers;andifwhen connected to the covers servesto readily'ilift and transiiortithem frornj thej robfito "a suitable storing place a'ndibaek.Insteadoffiusing a separate cover trans )orting vehicle[ontrueln Lgnay 1provide eac covet-with.track rail engaging refai'ably .wheels; wlnch canbe s ung are atiref-to'the' co'ver's ir-om. a. .positioriin whichtlieyflie. between the track rails and permit the eqverfito reston theroof sash,

into a position-i1. which they engage the track rails and through themholdthe cover above the sashfl m The various features of-novelty whichcharacterize my invention are pointed out with articularity 'iultheclaims annexed to and-H ormingia' part of this specification.

ForI -ai better: understanding of the: inventionfhowever, and: theadvantages possessed by it,--reference"shonld he hadlo the arconipanying drawingsrand descriptive matter in which'I have illustratedandidesoribed one of the forms in which the invention may be embodied. vi

)fthe drawings,Figure 1 is a. plan view of a poiition of a. forcing.be'd Constructed in accordance with in'y present invention, with toosomeitofzthe sashes removed-and some' in place, andun'ith'only some(lithe-sashes in place covered by:protectivecovers or pads.

Fig. 2 is; a sectional? elevation onthe line- 2-2- of Fig. 1.; Fig. isawa-ntiona'lelevation, taken"similarly ioxl -i'gl '2, but on alarger-scale andshowing :'1-.:po rtion' of the roof construction'ingreater detail than it is shown in-F ig. 2; Fig- 1 is upian'view, andFig.1!) an end=elevat-ion,-"of the over removing andrepla cing vepart-ialsectional elevations on the lines 6-6 I .and 77,,-respectively,'.of F ig. 2. Fig. 8 is a. perspective viewofaportion of one of thecovers; yFig. 9 is a plan view of the cover.

IQ i 1' 1,03%266.

hit-1e. Figs: 6 and 7 are .-Fig..10 i's'a section.on the line- 1010ofFig, 9, 'andishowinghlso the relative posi- "tions of the cover,protected sash, and suporting beams, when the cover' isin place.

m -ig. 11 is anpelevation. sho'wingthe relative positions of thenvehicleand cover'when the vehicle is in'positi'on to'fengage and liftthe cover.Figg12 is a'section-on the line I2 12 of Fig. 13,and"is, 'a :viewgenerally similar to Fig. 10, but illustrating a cover constructionhaving transporting ;wh eels permanently but fadjus'tab y'jsecure'd,the'reto. Fig. 13 is aplani view of h'i-rnodified lcover con- 1 IIstruction. FigQl l :is spare section taken 1 zo similarly to "Fi 12, 5

. a diiiei'ent-frelationlfroin that s own-in Fig.

12, and Fig.' 15 fan elevatidn apprtion ofthe operating fniechanism:

"entrance to. o It T hi'ough the wall A! tones florjf theglikeito thetransfer of eatFfrom' th'eisurrpiin; ng earth to the in-" ssta-iagsarwarmi g I a Within the fore B, separated-from eaclr other andfrom the I w re l 4 flanged 'metal'. bars 0 anjd 1 GA. 'As shown, thebars Care of the shape known as T bars he l rpof beams .are formed by(seeflligsrfiand 7 ),while. the bar CA, at the end of theforcing bed, isan angle bar." The topofthe-wa1l A is higher than the top of wall A, andthe'bars Q and GA. arefcoranchorage'of ;tl

respondingly inclined, and at" their Q lower ends have portio'hsiQfi CArespectively, bent down to assist'gn' obta prng' a secu te' ieseends'to', orjln, the lower ewrn aav The outer emits-0 and ca m-e,

similarly ,bent downward to h'ssistiI- s'ecuring them to the upper wallAgain in the construction shown, the 'p'ortiohs. C and CA are ofsnfliciont lengt-h' so that, they project overfa portion iof the.forcing'bed proper .and are embedded in a concrete shelf Awhieh isbacked atits underside by a layer of heat insulating material D, such asstraw or like material, inclosed by a heatretaining frame D, the latterbeing supported by a layer D of wooden boards or the like. Beyond thewalls A, runways or track rails are provided fort-he purposeherein-jafter described, by suitably supported, substantiallyhorizontal, metal bars E, which arin alinement with the vertical flangesof the bars 0 andCA, and may, of course, be replacedby integralextensions of thebars C and CA-,--though'the latter construction isslightly more expensive. In the form sho.wn,-. there=is a lower sash Gand an upper sash G in 'the panel or space between: each adjacent pairof beams C and between the end beam CA and adjacent beam These sashesmay beat the usual construe? I tion, withthe glass supported b the usualI wooden frame and suitable 'ctoss' 'ars. The

lowersashes'G rest directly at tl1eir'side"""- edges on the lateralflanges of the correspondin bars C, CA (see F 1g. 7), and rest at theirTowel-ends onthc end wall A. The lower ends of theupper sash overlap andrest on'the upper ends of the, correspondin lower sash. The sides of theupper sas1 are supported by strips H, preferably f formed of wood, andslightly wedge shaped, f with their thicker 'ends' lowermoshj The; fstripsH aresecured to'barsC, CA, bysuit- :"ff

able means, as by the b'olts'.H (see Figrc)" e ztendin throughtheiverticallfianges"of'the bars.- lie 'upper ends of the sash Gr reston' thegupper endlof the-shelf A; To guard I' 'a'gainstfthe coolingof""the interior of the forcing pit by'ma aon' to, and conductionthrough, thebeams C, the latter are'prefers ably insulated, as shown,bybo ards'L se cured to the beams by bolts',L passing";

through the lateral flanges of the beams, the" bcardsL, and suitable sacing blocks I 395 The space U, triangular in cross sect'ion,"be'- tweenthe base of each beam C and'the cor responding boards L may he filledwith" straw or-the like. The boards Lnot'only serve as heatdnsulatingdevices, but also as stiilening devices for the, beams, and the lattermay be supported, each at one or more' places, between -its ends, bysuitable up rightsor posts F, as shown in Fig. 2.

The pads, or caters, I, for'covering the.

sash and insulating the forcing-bed against heatloss, when necessary,comprise a rigid backing o1"- frame formcd, in the construe- ,tionshown, by boards lbsecured to cross pie'ces or battens I and I Thecracks arev preferably covered hypainted canvas strips ,-l".,- To theunderside of the cover framea suitable heat insulatingbackingissecured."-

As showrnthis backing is formed by a layer 4 of straw, 'or'likematerial, secured tojthe'.

boards by aweb'I of canvas or other'cloth,

frame, or otherwise secured thereto. As indicated inF-ig. 10', the strawat the edgeh I, so that a firm lwaring between the covet 'which istacked to the edges of the wooden and the.frame of the sashes isinsured,when the coversurein place on the sash.';-

This avoidsany danger of subjecting the.

glass ofthe sash te-a weight greater thanit'! of the cover or padisarranged in bundlesj'fiiit water collecting on 'the'upper' surface of 1"the cover us; run :under the battens Bandit, Toplermit ram Yorsnow'-water leaking the f backifi 'boa'rds into the straw,

t ions KF. 5' Thesidef ames are connected at" i e; endj'b'yalfcrossbari-Kt ,.andby inclined" oss h'ra'cesifK, ff-At 2 the {oppositeend the def-framesjare' eonnected by a crossbar K; tel-mediate i'th'eir-iends",ythe side frames; yI-be connected by one (pr-more bracesK'Ji djace'nt Pth front end of the frame, an axle;

is secured 'tIiere't -Ou the axle are mount-l 3'9 ed grooved wheels{Khfsuitably spaced apar and; havin ."gtheir't: grooves so proportionethmt-the-w eelsrun'i readily on the-topspf-j he ver'tic alflanges 5 of"each adj acerit painz 's G, OrCQCAEPAtthe front end of; v r v k,hooksiK;";fare provided,-whi ch are? talily spaced: to? ermit theirsimulta-{ carried byeach cover. ad; i'lofaeilitate the" pro er engaement'o thefwheels with the; 140 true "rails, tie-upperisashes'may begrooved? as indieated'iat lG? in Fig. 6. "aIn oper'ati' n',-, when it"sdesired tot-raps port acoverpadg-thetruck is run over the; pad; with thewheels at opposite sides there- 4510f, as'shown'in FigJjIL'andthe hooksK are; mss'ed beneaththe loops I. The frame I nf"; e truck-isthen-turned as a-- lever, the.

wheels' -serving' 'asufulcrums "to swing the frame into substa'ntiallthe cover pad back ofthe batten I off its former supporting surface, andthen, when the short end oft-he cover engages .the axle 'K, orothersnitableportion of the truck- I I e5 frame, the coveris-liftedbodily until it is I 60 ported-along the vertical flanges ofthe roof neous jentrancebeneat the twobentbars I H the position shown"60 in Fig. 5. This first hits the short end of gpad'ma be-easi'ly-putinplace on, andremoved rom, the other cover pad.

. the ap aratus khereinbefor'e skilled -in the art' that thecover padsmay be quic ly'and easily removed and replaced:

a by a single at-tendant, and nopwof the forcing bed structureis.-sub'ected:.to any port, and this, in structures inwhich the 5.

walls'A and A much greater than has been heretofore feasible.

may begworth while to mention that it has 4 been successfully employedin connection' the covers for transporting them, each cover may beprovided with wheels or like track H engaging devices which are mountedso that they may be moved relative'to thefcover into engagement with thetrack rails o the cover-above the sash and pm; t tits easytransportation along the trackra 'ils, or may be moved away from thetrack rails to allow the cover to come down on ts sash and to .ers forthe adjacent sashes at the, sides of the first mentioned sash to betransported. In Figs. 12 to 15, inclusive, I have illustrated one formof apparatus foraccomplishing Figs 12 to 15,'in'clusive, the cover Iitself may be identical-in construction with that heretofore described,although the-batten I 4 and hooks I are unnecessary in this case thereare two front and two rear wheels L, identical with each other andconnected to the cover in the same manner. cAs shown,- the axle L ofeach wheel is mounted in a pair of'trunnion collars L", each- 9f whichis 125- pivotally connected between thejatms M of. one of acorresponding pair of hell .c rank levers. The bell crank levers a'fulcrumed atM in suitable bearin blocks. secured- .the lower'one. Thewheels K of the truck, areof-suificient diameter. sothat one co'ver'weight which it is not well a apted' to sup-'- forcing bed is of a width(distance between i this, result. In the arrangement sl1own in115'scribed, it will be readilyapparent-tothose i 'VVhile the invention ofcourse is not limit l ed 'to any. specificdimensions of parts, it -gjwith apparatus of the type specifically illusf" tend to end to coverthe sashes between a 5 "Instead of employing means separate from 1 0permit the transporting devices of the cov- 110 andmay bedispensed with.In this form 129 toitheixigid backing of t ecoverl The sec-- p01 1 x4. Iq- 7 l nd bell cranl: leversfor each wheel are'connected. together bylinks .-M, and the arni' Mf of the inner bell crank .;leverfor,each'wheel has pivotally connected to it a block N to which'ispivot-ally con- 4 nected one end of a connecting rod N. The inner endsof. the connecting rods N for each frontpair of wheels'are swiveled to acollarjN carried by.-arod=N3 which lies above 1 the center. of andextends longitudinally of the-corresponding cover; The rods 1 .N of therear wheels are similarly connected to a second collar N. .portedrin-bearin blocks'N so as to be I tiveto' the cover.

The rod N is supinovable, in the direction of its length rela- The rod.N is connected I v at one end by a link'O to an operating lever 1P,The'"lever R s fulcrumed at I to a bracket Pf 1 secure tothe rigidbacking of thecover.

' It will be readily apparent that by swinging the operating lever B onitsfulcrum, to

. move the-rod N 'in' the direction of its length, the wheels-L" may beeasily moved *from the fullline positions shown in, Figs;,.-12iand,13into thedotted line positions shown in :those'figures-whichare the same as the-"fullf'line position shown in Fig." 14.o :Whentheaivheels are 'in-th'e full line pos i- .rported 'by theWheels,"bu't rests on the sash *when inplaceiover the latter' or when,re-' tiOnsofJEigsQIQ and 13,-the co'veris notsupmovedfuponrsoinesuitable support." In this Y condition of theapparatus the wheels are at the inner sides'of the two track rails atthe -oute'r side 0f the cover and do not interfere with tl1e use ofthose rails bythe wheels of the transporting mechanism for the coversfor the sashes at the onte'r'sidc of the track rails. \Vlwnthe wheelsare in the position indicated in full lines in Fig; 14, they ongage thetrack rails and carrythe weight of the coverwhich lifted above the sashas shown in Fig. 14. p By preference, when the wheels are ini-theposltion shown in' Fig. 14,

i the lever'P is swung-into the position indicated.in Fig. 15-where thefulcrumpoint P is below the line drawn through the axis of tween therods Q and X, so t-lmt'the lever P'is automatically locked againstaccidental return movement which would permit vthe cover to below'ei'ted' relative to its supporting wheelsi'j 1 Having now describedtiny invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by LettersPatentfis: 3 x 1. In a forcing hed, the combination with the roof sashestllKl-l'tllltfi'ltll'ilfi covers there foryof beams supportingthesashesand covers, and formed. with guide surfaces for cover transportingmeans. Y

2. In a orcing'he d, the combination with the roof. sashes andrenlovable-covers therefor, of beamssupporting said sashes and coversformed flanged barshaving lateral '3.- In a forcing bed, the combinationwith I the, roof sashes and removable'covers threfor, of beamssupporting the sashes andcova vehicle'having flanged wheels adapted torun along the guide surfaces of saitil'b'eains',v said vehicle andcovers having cooperative provisions whereby the covers may. be liftedand transported by the Vehicle' f 4. The combination with the side wallsof a forcing bed, of a roofconstruction therefor, comprising parallelequally spaced apart-'fianged-bars having vertical flanges adapted toserve as track rails for a .cover' transporting vehicle and havinglateral ,sash supporting flanges, sashes supported bydthe last mentionedflanges, insulating pads adapted to be placedbetween the verticalflanges of each adjacent pair of bars tocover the sashc supportedbetween "said bars, and a vehicl' .having visions forlifting {andtransporting said 5. In a forc ng bed, the coml/imatmn with the roofsashes and removable} overs therefor, of beams supporting; formed withsurfaces where said beams may serve'as 'track rails for-a cover .trans-'porting means, and heat insulating covers for the sashes, comprising arigid frame and a non rigid layer of heat insulating material secured tothe underside of said frame.

6. In a forcing bed, the combination with the roof sashes and removablecovers there for, of beams supporting the -sashes and formed ,withsurfaces wliereb'ysaid beams may serve as track rails for a cover trans-.110

porting means, and heat insulating covers ers and formed with guidesurfaces for the" wheels of a cover transporting vehicle, and

rigid backed heat flanged wheels adaptedto runfon he vert-i-t calflanges of said bars and ha ng prof'sashes and for the sashes comprisingarigid frame and t a non rigid layer of heat msulatun material securedto the underside ofsaid frame and made thicker adjacent its margin thanin the body portion of .the layer.

7. The combination with the side walls of a forcing bed, of a roofconstruction therefor, comprising parallel sasli and cover supportingbeams arranged to serve as track rails for cover transporting mcans rand track rails in alincment with said beams at one side of said forcingbed between which said covers may be stored.

S. The cmnbinatimi with the side walls of I a. forcing bed, of a.roofconstruction theretor, comprising parallel sash and sash coversupporting metal beams, said beams having" vertical flanges adapted-toserve as track rails for sash cover transporting means and havinglateral flanges at their lower edges adapted to serve as sash supports,and a heat insulating cover for the underside of each beam.

9. The combination with the side walls of a forcing bed, of a roofconstruction there- 'for, comprising parallel sash and sash co???supporting metal beams, ,said beams hav ing vertical flanges adapted toserve as track rails for sash cover transporting means and havinglateral flanges at their lower edges adapted to serve as sash supports,and a heat. insulating cover for the underside of each beam, saidinsulating cover comprising a pair of strips of heat insulating materialsecured against each beam in the form of a V shaped trough with thelower edge of the beam entering the top of the trough.

10. The combination with the side walls of a forcing bed, of a roofconstruction therefor, comprising parallel sash and sash coversupporting beams each in the form of a metal T bar having a verticalflange. adapted to serve as a track rail for cover transporting meansand having lateral sash supporting flanges at the lower edge of saidvertical flange, and spacer strips secured to one portion of each beamabove said lateral flanges whereby the underside of a sash supportedthereby is brought above a sash supported directly on the lateralflanges of another portion of the beam.

11. The combination with the side walls of a forcing bed, of aroofconstruction therefor, comprising parallel equally spaced apart flangedbars having vertical flanges adapted to serve as track rails for a covertransporting vehicle and having lateral sash supporting flanges, sashessupported by the last mentioned flanges, heat insulating pads adapted tocover the sashes supported between said bars, and a vehicle havingWheels adapted to run on the vertical flanges of said bars and havingprovisions for lifting and transporting said pads.

FREDERICK W. TAYLOR.

Vitnesses:

